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Home of Birmingham, Alabama Exercise Physiologist, Strength Coach and Certified Personal Trainer Jeff GreenWed, 08 Nov 2017 16:58:45 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.8.5Honey: A Natural Way to Treat Infectionhttp://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?p=3901
http://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?p=3901#respondThu, 29 Oct 2015 19:44:17 +0000http://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?p=3901Have you ever wondered why honey, a natural product that is so rich in sugar, is resistant to bacterial or fungal growth, even when kept at room temperature for months?
Honey’s strong anti-bacterial properties were discovered by ancient civilizations. The enzymes within honey inhibit microbial growth and biofilm formation. They also stimulate fibroblasts that are essential to wound healing.
Additionally, honey’s high sugar content and low water content can draw out a wound’s discharge and necrotic material and enhance healing. Honey’s high sugar content can also kill infecting organisms that might find their way into the honey itself.
J. Parvizi, MD. reports that honey was effective in healing chronic wounds, including some cases he treated personally.
Given the current challenge we face with treating infections with man-made antibiotics, why not let nature fight nature? (Orthopedics Today, 10/15).
]]>http://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?feed=rss2&p=39010Donate Your Soles to The Sugarbelle Foundationhttp://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?p=3894
http://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?p=3894#respondTue, 20 Oct 2015 18:41:52 +0000http://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?p=3894Help us support the Sugarbelle Foundation, a local 501c3, whose mission is to keep pets and people together, raise funds by donating your new or gently worn shoes.
Funds2Orgs purchases the shoes and redistributes them to impoverished people in developing countries.
A drop box will be at ICON Performance 10/20-11/7
]]>http://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?feed=rss2&p=38940High Concussion Rates Found During Football Practicehttp://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?p=3887
http://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?p=3887#respondWed, 07 Oct 2015 16:46:26 +0000http://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?p=3887According to a recent study published in the Journal of American Medical Association Pediatrics (02/2015),concussion rates in football athletes at the youth, high school, and collegiate levels were found to be highest during a game situation; BUT, practice sessions also posed a major concussion risk for these same groups of athletes.
During practice, athletes at the high school level had a concussion rate of 0.8 per 1,000 exposures and 0.53 per 1,000 exposures at the collegiate level. According to the study’s author “The rates of concussion are always higher in games…[but] because there are more practices overall, generally practices will either contribute as many or sometimes more concussions over the course of the season.” (Dompier, 2015).
The researchers suggest that it might be too difficult for coaches to reduce concussion risk during games. But, in practice, coaches, parents and and trainers can do certain things to try and help reduce the number of concussions and overall injuries. Teaching and using proper tackling technique and using drills that teach tackling technique that doesn’t involve children colliding into each other will help address this issue. Bottom line is: it’s harder to change game conditions. Strategies to figure out how to reduce concussions during practice is a good starting point.
]]>http://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?feed=rss2&p=3887010 Things You Need To Know About Your VMOhttp://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?p=3883
http://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?p=3883#respondSun, 30 Aug 2015 23:44:36 +0000http://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?p=3883

What the heck is your VMO you Say? The vastus medialis (vastus internus or teardrop muscle) is an extensor muscle located medially in the thigh that extends the knee. The vastus medialis is part of the quadriceps muscle group.

1. The one and one-quarter squat is a great way to correct weakness in the VMO

2. Target the stubborn VMO with single-leg movements such as the Peterson step-up.

3. The glute medius and minimus are far more important for knee than the VMO

4. Poor ankle mobility = greater activity of the soleus / less activity in the VMO = athlete’s knee will cave inward during the squat

5. The major disadvantage of deadlifts is that it does not effectively work the VMO – DL’s need to be teamed with quad-dominant exercises

6. The VMO is particularly fast to waste away during an injury, perhaps because it does a lot of eccentric work as a shock absorber

5. Using a low-tech shorthand for insulin resistance: a 40 inch or greater waist for men, a 35 inch or greater waist for women. If your waist measures that high, you can safely bet the family farm that you’ve got insulin resistance and may be headed for some serious trouble down the road. Interestingly, those waist measurements were exactly the numbers that correlated with the doubled risk for death when compared with smaller waists — less than 34 inches for men, less than 28 inches for women — in a recent study. Each 2-inch increase in waist circumference added about 17% increased risk for mortality in men and about 13% increased mortality in women

6. Within ten minutes of drinking about 17 ounces of water, the subjects’ metabolisms increased by about 30%, reaching a maximum after 30-40 minutes

7. Watch the frequency! I’ve seen one female bikini competitor go from 24 to 28 in her waist from the high frequency, high-load abdominal/oblique work!

8. Interval Training for your cardio…only. The days of long, slow boring cardio are over for this particular goal. Short, high-intensity exercise creates an oxygen debt (known in geekspeak as E.P.O.C., or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) and this results in a metabolic boost long after the training session is over.

9. We’re made to be outdoors. While it’s not always practical to haul a whole barbell set outside or train at Muscle Beach, look to do something physical outside. Run sprints at the track, find a hill and do sprints, push a Prowler or pull a sled. Grab a sledgehammer and try to beat an old tire to a pulp. Also, consider bringing minimal equipment like kettlebells to a park and having an outdoor session.

10. Sleep quality and quantity. I cant say this enough even though this day and age it’s close to impossible to get enough good, quality sleep. Sleep is like a bank account . You can only take so much out before you have to stop and deposit back in. Take your power naps when you can and go to bed early. Turn off the bloody TV and read a book. Remember to take your magnesium and zinc before you hit the sack too. If you sleep less than 5 hours a night your body builds up more fat reserves than if you sleep 6 hours or longer each night.

3. Press the bar overhead and hold for six seconds. Then lower the bar down and do a half rep but with a six second hold. Count each 1 ½ reps as one rep and do at least six reps. Spend those six seconds when the bar is in the overhead position tensing and contracting the deltoids hard. You won’t be able to use as much weight using the 1 ½ principle but it won’t matter because the deltoids work so hard

4. Try a old school movement. W-presses are nothing like regular dumbbell presses. You might say W-presses are to deltoids as dumbbell flys are to pecs. This is because the dumbbells are raise overhead in a wide arc. You can do these either seated or standing. Hold two moderately light dumbbells at shoulder height (about what you use for side laterals is the right weight, or maybe five pounds more), the palms facing the ears. The hands should be pulled back in line with the shoulders and be wide and outside the deltoids. In this position the hands and arms form a W—hence the name.

5. The Klokov Muscle Snatch Is the Best Overall Deltoid Builder. This is one of the best most bang for your buck exercise for building huge strong delts. Yes, it requires flexibility. Dmitry Klokov has deltoids that would make a silverback gorilla look puny. He has done 75 kg for 5 reps on that one. Also a very effective trap 3 builder. From experience, it helps break plateaus in the bench press.

6. Just because a muscle fails to respond to one type of training does not mean it will not respond to another type. Larry Scott trained deltoids by doing 6 drop sets, 6 drops per drop set, or 36 sets on his special version of dumbbell presses (what I call Scott presses with a tilted grip and doing only the middle three-fifths range of motion), side laterals and bent laterals. That’s over 100 sets but Larry could do it in less than 2 hours because he took no rest between drops and only a minutes rest between drop sets.

7. The upright row recruits the traps, deltoids, and elbow flexors. It is considered a most bang for your buck exercise.
It also has much transfer on tasks, such as loading the back of a truck. It is also a great general preparation exercises for Olympic lifters to condition the muscles in the top pull in both the clean and the snatch.
Now recent research done at the University of Memphis, has shed some light on how the width of the grip affects muscle recruitment. They compared the electrical activity in various muscles according to three different grips:
1 Narrow: half of shoulder width
2 Should width
3 Wide: Double shoulder width
Here is what they found out:
1 The wide grip increases electrical activity in the middle and rear deltoids by more than 20% when compared to the narrow grip.
2 A decrease in biceps activity, accompanied by upper traps activity increases were also found with the wide grip.
Point being, if your shoulders are lacking in relation to your upper arms, go wider on the grip!

8. Want A Very Effective Method to Build Large Delts and Middle Back? This is a very challenging and effective exercise to put mass on your shoulders and between your shoulder blades. It is demonstrated by my co-lecturer Dmitry Klovov. Best is to do 5 sets of 6 reps for optimal results. As you can see the tempo is explosive in nature. You can watch the man demo right here: https://youtu.be/A34Hh16YSn4

9. Many a shoulder problems could have been avoided with a few minutes of external rotation work for the rotator cuffs. Don’t neglect this kind of work.

10. The Four Percent Solution
Let’s say you have a weak deltoid muscle complex and you want to improve your upright row strength. And, for the sake of this example, we’ll say your best performance for the upright row is 100 pounds for 7 reps.
This is what your rep/set cycle would look like:
Workout 1: 4-5 sets x 7 reps at 100 pounds
Workout 2: Increase the weight from the last workout by 4-5 percent and do 1 rep less per set: 4-5 sets x 6 reps at 104-105 pounds
Workout 3: Increase the weight from the last workout by 4-5 percent and do 1 rep less per set: 4-5 sets x 5 reps at 108-110 pounds
Workout 4: Use the load you used in workout #2 for the workout #1 rep target. In this case, you’re shooting for: 4-5 sets x 7 reps at 104-105 pounds. If you achieve your goal, it means you’re already 4-5% stronger!

]]>http://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?feed=rss2&p=3870010 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Your Knees…http://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?p=3867
http://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?p=3867#respondMon, 03 Aug 2015 01:06:36 +0000http://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?p=3867
1. The front squat is easier on the knees compared to the back squat.

2. Biomechanical analysis shows that the HIGHEST compressive force on the knee is at a 90-degree knee flexion angle— just about parallel

3. The glute medius and minimus are far more important for knee than the VMO

4. If you aggressively ADDuct with something in between your knees and feet apart while trying to squat -You are cranking into valgus collapse

5. Squatting with a wide stance will help provide a biomechanical advantage for taller athletes by reducing torque about the knee joints

6. Think calves are a big part of your VJ? Try this: Without bending your knees try to hop up onto the next step. Did you make it? Probably not

9. Ankle dominance will have good feet, excel in jumps requiring little knee bend/short ground contact times, and to play better than they test

10. Arthroscopic knee surgery for osteoarthritis is one of the most unnecessary surgeries performed today

]]>http://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?feed=rss2&p=38670Exercise Is ADHD Medicationhttp://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?p=3861
http://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?p=3861#respondFri, 05 Jun 2015 20:13:10 +0000http://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?p=3861 New research demonstrates a critical link between exercise and academic performance. The medical journal “Pediatrics,” published research that found kids who participated in regular physical activity showed important enhancements in cognitive performance and brain function. According to University of Illinois Professor, Charles Hillman, the findings “demonstrate a causal effect of a physical program on executive control, and provide support for physical activity for improving childhood cognition and brain health.”
Another study found that a twelve week exercise program improved Math and Reading test scores in ALL kids but especially in those with signs of ADHD. A similar study published in the “Journal of Attention Disorders”(2014) found that over an eight week period, 26 minutes of daily physical activity significantly allayed ADHD symptoms in grade-school kids.
Between 2007 and 2011, the number of amphetamines and other stimulant prescriptions increased from 34.8 million to 48.4 million. The pharmaceutical market around the disorder has grown to several billion dollars (Journal of Attention Disorders). School exercise initiatives have not enjoyed the same growth.
Kids’ physical inactivity should be regarded as a pandemic and is a “serious threat to global health.” (Hillman, Pediatrics). Obese teenagers earn 18 percent less money as adults than their peers, even if they are no longer obese (Nystedt, University of Sweden). Nystedt suggests that the rapid increase in childhood and adolescent obesity could have long-lasting effects on economic growth and the productivity of nations.
John Ratey, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard, advises that people think of exercise as medication for ADHD. Even very light physical activity improves mood and cognitive performance by triggering the brain to release dopamine and serotonin, similar to the way that stimulant medications (like Adderall) work. In 2012, Ratey asserted that physical exercise is “really for our brains…it’s like taking a little bit of Prozac and a little bit of Ritalin.”
Are your kids involved in a customized exercise routine? Help them establish healthy eating and exercise habits that will last a lifetime!!!
Give us a call! 205-970-BFIT (2348)
]]>http://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?feed=rss2&p=38610Cogito Ergo Sum = Mindsethttp://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?p=3854
http://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?p=3854#respondSun, 03 May 2015 20:17:10 +0000http://www.iconperformanceonline.com/?p=3854

It is said that the mind is the most powerful “muscle” in the entire body. With that being said, one could argue that once someone’s mind is made up (concretely made up) that one was going to accomplish a certain task, one could consider it done. Consider for one minute, that the task is fitness / rehab / performance based. It could be a bad joint that didn’t heal properly, a certain weakness in your defensive nature in a particular martial art, to lose 25-30 pounds of life-debilitating body fat, to actually train for a 5K or half marathon, whatever… That would take a conscious effort on your part to plan and execute the regimen necessary to get the job done.

The first task is the PLAN. FAILURE TO PLAN IS A PLAN TO FAIL. Hopefully by this time in reading my blog posts over the years, one understands that this is an all consuming plan. All perspectives and angles have to considered in order to ensure success regardless of the task at hand. If you have a problem coming up with that kind of comprehensive plan, then that’s what the fitness professionals / strength & speed coaches / physical therapist – exercise physiologists are for. Consider consulting or hiring one to get a game plan established. I personally can’t even start a workout unless it’s written down first. My training log is a powerful tool. I can refer back to past workouts to see what records I have set and notes on workout fails. You wouldn’t try a build a house, program a computer, or start a business without a plan or seeking professional help would you? For our fitness based task at hand, you need to come at it from all the angles that would make you successful: Diet (both food and supplements), Exercise (both strength and conditioning), rest / recovery and injury prevention / injury management. If that sounds overwhelming then consider getting some help. If you are the type that is highly self motivated, then a consultation and a follow up program design for you to execute on your own might be just the ticket. For those that need an appointment to make, someone waiting on you, and someone to push you and adapt the program as you evolve, then hiring a professional is what you need to consider. But I digress, this article is not about slinging services. It’s about you laser focusing your efforts toward a goal and letting nothing side track you.

Let’s say for argument that you have your comprehensive game plan. You have painstakingly dotted every I and crossed every T and left nothing to chance. Awesome! Now we can get started on creating a new “you”, whatever you you want that to be. Now is the “fun” part. Staying on point. That means cutting or curtailing anything that will derail or detract from accomplishing your goal. The most powerful way I know of and coached for decades is emotion. What I mean by that is to reach back in your life to mind a powerful emotion or pivotal event that evokes a POWERFUL emotional response to this day. The power of the emotion is critical. It has to be one so strong that it keeps you focused even when you are feeling depressed, defeated and feel like quitting. An emotion / event that motivates when nothing else does. An emotion / event that will drag you kicking and screaming across that “finish line” even you want to give up. One that won’t let you cheat on that diet, will make you add those 5 pounds on the bar or crank out that last set / rep, one that gets you out of bed early in the morning because it’s the only time in your busy schedule to get that workout in, one that makes your sprint that much harder up that stadium even you’re the only one out there and no one is watching you or cheering you on. If that emotion makes you angry, makes you wanna cry, makes you wanna scream, makes you wanna punch walls, then your there. I’m not talking self destructive , I’m talking highly motivating because it causes you to stir. NOW WE ARE GONNA USE THIS TO OUR ADVANTAGE AND SPIN THIS IN A POSITIVE MANNER. Use this to create a new you. A Phoenix out of the Flames if you will. Out of the fire of change we will forge a new you on many levels. Everyone gets frustrated. Everyone gets tired and beat down. This tool will allow to emerge on the other side of the gauntlet and you won’t recognize yourself.

Are you ready for a “real” new you that can endure the flames of life? Are you a beginner and lack the “something” that gets you started? Are you an elite athlete and feeling your motivation and inspiration waning? Are you a weekend warrior and feel like your just spinning your wheels? Are you someone who used to be fit and now life stepped in and stomped on you! Having a hard time getting back on track? Having a hard time achieving or maintaining old goals?

What exactly is Martial Fitness? Definitions vary depending on the mindset of the individual. Yes, I said mindset. What does that have to do with the depth and breadth of one’s fitness goals? Everything…

The word “martial” tends to bring up visions of war, battle or some kind of conflict. When the mindset should include the ability to keep your loved ones safe. That doesn’t automatically mean something combative. There are several connotations and / or theoretical applications. What martial fitness means to me includes a whole slew of different situational applications:
– The fitness foundations that allows unfaltering skill acquisition in all disciplines of the traditional martial arts – Kung Fu, Aikido, Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Boxing, Wrestling, Capoeira, Shenkindo, Jeet Kune Do, Brazilian Ju Jitsu, Hapkido, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Judo, Krav Maga, Kempo, Kuk Sool, and the list goes on…
– A compilation of fitness attributes the create Strength, Endurance and Confidence
– A creation of Mental and Physical Balance (remember I said earlier – MINDSET)
– The ability to ADAPT to environment, emergency and / or situation
– The most thought of answer ( and I have and currently train several LEO and Current / ex-military clients) is a combative application.
– An ability that transcends fitness levels, age or discipline
– A discipline of fitness that includes strength, stamina, stability, flexibility, explosive power, injury resistance and limitless constitution

And that last statement really brings it home to me personally as an exercise physiologist. The words I focus on most is “athletic” and “precision”. That’s how your program needs to be designed. All the aspects of athleticism in a progressive / regressive pattern with PRECISE and PERIODIZED programming model. An amalgam of exercises all thrown together in a jumbled mess in order to create order out of chaos is going to produce results on such an inconsistent basis causing the trainee to possibly overtrain, create a training void because some type of fitness gets neglected, or worse… get injured (whether chronic or acute) is the sign of a poorly designed program.

A comprehensive evaluation, assessment and screening process is imperative to achieving Martial Fitness. If you don’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been. Getting quantifiable data that one can track is the only intelligent route to take. “Comprehensive” means that there all kinds of strength, all kinds of stamina, all kinds of flexibility, all kinds of agility, etc. that needs to be addressed. Then beyond that, the evaluation needs to include custom, yet data and norm based drills and tests that are specific to the tasks required. Whether it be police / military / first responder, traditional martial art, emergency medical personnel, self defense class, high adventure activities, and so on, the evaluation needs to reflect that.

What does Martial Fitness mean to you? What kinds of situations do you think you might find yourself in? If you have a physical job, what aspects of the fitness spectrum will that pull from and allow you to do your job efficiently and remain injury free? What are your fitness weaknesses? We, as humans, tend to stick with what we are already good at performing on a regular basis. True Martial Fitness dictates that we are above proficient in all areas of the spectrum.

Interested in Martial Fitness? Have a specific goal or task in mind you want to be totally prepared for? Need a custom comprehensive evaluation to administer to your group? Think your current program lacks a certain something and you can’t quite put your finger on it? Coming back from some type of injury and need to get back to specs asap? Is your current routine keeping you in pain or retaining a nagging injury? Let us help. At ICON Performance, that is what we specialize in. With 30 years of experience, we can see your goals from all perspectives simultaneously. You’ll get the most advanced design available to get you to your goals fast and safe.